Venom
by hanyoYokai
Summary: It surrounded everything. It ate up everything in its path. It did not give us any mercy as it destroyed us. This is not related to Marvel Comics "Venom" in any way.
1. Darkness

Words left her as a high pitch ringing engulfed her ears. She stared into those bright amber eyes burning with terror, and her mind muted by the noise. As if stuck underwater, everything was slow as he looked towards her shoulder. He was yelling, but it was as if he'd been speaking a language she couldn't understand. Her eyes widen as she stared down in horror; the ringing was getting louder until it released as a rush of noise.

The wound was small. It looked nothing like she expected from the pain that was surging from her body. Instead of a neat reddened hole, it was ragged around the edges. The blood left the artery it belonged in surges, pulsed out by a slowing heart. Oozing with a mix of bright and dark congealing blood, and the putrid smell of rotting flesh was enough to initiate a gag reflex told her that she was stabbed with one of the incarnation's body parts.

She lightly pressed her hand against the center of the wound and sucked in a sharp breath as the pain spirals across her body. Bright spots form around the sides of her eyes, and she had to bite her lip from the pain of it all.

"Kagome!" She opened her eyes in shock; she was falling. Her perception of time distorted, everything slowed down until there was nothing, only Inuyasha. Everything was a blur, a blur that swirled out of existence. Inuyasha thrust his arm out, stopping her from plummeting down to her death.

"Inuyasha..." Time itself had become irrelevant; the seconds could have been hours, or hours mere seconds. In that suspended moment, she was the eye of her own storm, but for that moment; calm. The blood coated her fingers like caramel over an apple, only bright red instead of golden brown, cold against her warm skin.

"Hold on...I think I can..." Every muscle in Inuyasha's body had knotted up as the realization flooded in, that if he were to slip even a little bit; Kagome will die. It had caused him to feel so small and insignificant; why of all nights did he have to be a human.

"Agh! Shit!" He glanced nervously over his shoulder as he felt the ground underneath him, starting to give way.

"Inuyasha..." There is a stillness to her soul. She felt the chill in her blood, her insides quivering but her face calm; sad. She had cried her tears, suffered her wounds, walked her hardest roads.

_Please, I don't want you to die._

"Shut up- I've got you." His facial expression sank; his skin became icy against her skin, pale as white itself. Every thought in his mind was silenced into denial.

"It's not worth it." A muscle twitched involuntarily at the corner of his right eye. He clenched his fingers tightly around her arm until his nails dug into the skin, but she barely notices. The only thing she is aware of is the sound of her heart throbbing against the cage of her chest and the pain on his face. She didn't want him to die because of her.

_If we are going to die, I want to die together. _

"Don't do this..." With every move the ground made, he became more and more terrified. Blood was slowly oozing out of numerous wounds on his face and arm, a small but relentless flow of crimson, but he felt no pain; he only felt fear. His breath quickens as he felt his grip on her slipping, the blood working him away from her.

She looked down and saw the deep dark abyss. The darkness reached out for her, its hands wrapped around her, pulling her down, beckoning her to drop. She gazed at the night sky above her- the only thing she could see- Inuyasha. She closed her eyes briefly, knowing her fate. The darkness welcomed her, smiling deviously.

"Take care of yourself, Inu." Inuyasha's face fell faster than a corpse in cement boots to her words. In that instant, his skin became greyed, his mouth hung with lips slightly parted, and his eyes were as wide as they could stretch.

She felt her soul slipped through her fingers as her body fell. Her eyes closed slowly and gave herself away to the darkness that descended on her vision as her brain starved of oxygen.

"No!" It had a raw essence, the realness of a person consumed by a pain that knew no end or limit. His hands tremble, and his eyes watered as he reached out to her towards the darkness that engulfed her.

It's like she was a fragment of the universe as she stood in the darkness. She was in a daze; her eyes vacant; not knowing how or when she got here; even her memories felt like dreams.

She was mindlessly walking through the darkness, heading nowhere as her progress felt futile. All she could hear was her footsteps; wet, that's right as she looked down, it was nothing but darkness; she was in 2 inches of blackwater.

_Flutter_

Turning her head, she looked at her surroundings; trying to find the noise. That's when she noticed it, a small bird; like a Eurasian Kestrel. It was unusual; the colors were shifting as it moved, flying as it was stuck in time. It wasn't an ordinary bird; it was a specter.

Kagome stared at it, tilting her head slightly, trying to wrap her head around it. That something so beautiful is trap in a dreadful dark place like this with her. She slowly looked behind her as a slow screeching metal overtook her attention from the creature.

_Inuyasha_

"Inu...?" Her words fell from her mouth as she took a step closer to him, her eyes glued to him; his clothes and hair wet as he dragged an untransformed Tessaiga behind him as he walked, his hair still black from the new moon.

"Kagome...forgive me, please forgive me. If I hadn't failed you, you'd... you'd still be here now." He stumbled, using Tessaiga as support; he was suffering from his wounds from earlier. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he muttered to himself; his body shaking.

"Inu...yasha..." The thoughts were accelerating inside her head. What was he saying? She wanted them to slow so she can breathe, but they won't. Was she dead; is this Hell? Her breaths came in gasps, and she felt like she was going to blackout. Her heart hammered inside her chest as it belongs to a rabbit running for its skin.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" Tears blinded her, running as quickly as her legs would carry her, bolting down the darkness to get to him. The pounding noise of her shoes resonating off the wet floor with a splash echo that matched her heart throbbing inside her chest with the thick grief and fear she felt as she ran.

"Inuyasha!" She yelled, waving her hands through the cloud of mist where he had stood. A feeling of dread crept up from the pit of her stomach as the panic started crawling through her veins. An invisible hand clasps over her mouth; an equally ghostly hypodermic of adrenaline pierces her heart, unloading in an instant. She felt ribs heaving as if bound by ropes, straining to inflate her lungs. Her head is a carousel of fears spinning out of control, each one pushing her mind back into blackness. She wanted to run; She needed to freeze. Sounds that were near felt far away, like she was no longer in the body that stood in darkness.

"Inuyasha! Inu, where are you?!" Her head whipped around; trying to search for him, only to see nothing but the blur through her tears. A sudden chill went down her spine; she was alone in complete darkness. All her fears are tumbling out unchecked by her brain; she's in a mental free-fall, unable to analyze things or assess risk.

Her eyes were wild; the weight of her heart brought her to her knees. She had reached for him. Inuyasha was right there; now he was gone. She could no longer control her hands; they were shaking in an odd trembling rhythm. Trying to stop, she wrapped her arms around herself, bringing her knees closer to her chest; burying her face as she got swallowed from the darkness.

Brief insanity stole into her mind like a deranged thief. Her brain had shut down, and she couldn't understand. She was clammy, and there was the glisten of cold sweat that covered her body. Her eyes were wide as if someone was coming to deliver the fatal blow.

"What, but, no, it didn't, that's... not... right..." Her voice came out thin and distant. She's breathing all wrong, beginning to gasp like there's not enough oxygen in the air.

"NO!" The scream tore through her like an enormous shard of glass. Her eyes shut tight with tears running down her cheeks as her pulse quicken, her heart thudding like a rock rattling inbox. The scream came again, desperate, terrified... human. It is as if her terrified soul had unleashed a beast. It pierced her brain and burned some primeval pathway. Adrenaline surged through her veins, her fists clenched and her teeth lock up once the sound left.


	2. Hell

Nausea tore at her throat, and she tried to force down the bile, but it was too late. Her eyes shot open as chunks of black coagulated sludge spewed out of her coughing, choking mouth. Her stomach kept on contracting violently and forcing everything up and out. Her face was white and dripping bile, sweat, and tears. She lurched forward from the floor, trying to catch her breath. The sharp stench invaded her nose, and she heaved even though there was nothing left.

Kagome stared in horror as she saw the black sludge began to clump together, moving on its own. A chill ran down her spine; as she realized that it was a pieced of the monster that attacked her and Inuyasha. It must have broken off inside of her when it pierced her. Suddenly, the ghoulish creature started shuffling towards her like a frail, rotting monstrosity. As it got closer, she could see that it had a disjointed jaw showing it split tongue and razor-sharp, savage teeth. Unexpectedly, a spark of rage seemed to burn within it as it let out an earsplitting screech and rushed away from her.

She glanced upward, wearing a panic but puzzled expression. Her eyes fixed on her surroundings. She was inside her school, but not at the same time; it was like a crushed shell of what it once was. The walls were painted previously; she could tell from the cream sections that remain, though they reveal the grey undercoat and concrete beneath that.

A vast blanket of purple hung heavy over the roots and tile. It suffocated every locker, swallowing every distant object, and vanishing around every corner.

Her feet were bare; the impact caused her shoes to come off; that's the only reason she knew the ground was still there as she wandered through her personal Hell. Why it didn't end her life, she couldn't figure out. Everything else had dissolved like it was never there at all, like the universe hasn't even begun, or perhaps it never was. This nightmare felt more real as she walked down the endless halls, the path at her feet fading as it leads into the darkness of the woods. She desperately tried to wake up, screaming for help, for Inuyasha, but nobody came.

The trees covered in a thick fog, their trunks dull brown with dark cracks that gnarl the bark. As her eyes wandered to the edge of the forest, the trees become shapes against a sheet of purple. From the darkness came the sound of heavy limbs being hauled across the forest floor. Whatever it was, it was massive. Either it dragged its feet or a tail through the undergrowth. Kagome took in a sudden intake of breath and stumbled backward, jamming her heel into the tree behind her, ducking behind it. Her shoulders shook in fear, and it wasn't until she took another look was when she noticed it.

In that hollow shriek is the pain of a monster who sold its soul for peace and instead found Hell. Its hatred colored its soul. It was spreading throughout the entire system, shutting down all other feelings, and becoming central to the life and the purpose of that creature. It stood, a mass of tangled limbs, each one armor-plated with a painstakingly slow good seeping from the black pores. The monster snapped its jawbones and looked for her with its enormous eye. Towering above her, as tall as a bus, it began to utter a series of noises and clicks.

Once again, fear found her. It spoke to her in its cackling voice. It tells her legs to go weak, her stomach to lurch, and her heart to ache. Her mother once said to her that there was nothing to fear but fear itself, but still, she could not silence its voice.

Her brain had shut down, and she shut tight her eyes as she anticipated the fatal blow. But none came; it was eerily silent as she slowly peeled her eyes open. She glanced around, her mouth pursed but slightly open and loose. Her eyes fixed as if she's looking through something only she could see.

"What..." It was like she was in a dream. This bathroom wasn't familiar to her. The paint stripped from the displays, and the coating in the sink was cracking. Water leaked from the bottom of the drain when it was last in use. But it was strangely clean, the old tarnished mirror sparkled in the harsh light and the bath, though also chipped, was as white as any in the store. It almost felt like her world was spinning, and she just wanted to sit down.

Kagome wore a puzzled expression as she stood there staring at the baggy shirt she was under; It wasn't quite a t-shirt; it wasn't quite a shirt. It had a neat trimmed edge rather than a collar; the fabric was thin enough to show the shape of her chest. The shirt was clean; it had that freshly washed appearance. Gone were her uniform with the blood, sweat, and dirt.

She let herself watch in the mirror how the fabric moved, cloth with soft crinkles was so much more delicate than anything she had own before. Noticing darkness peeking from beneath, she pulled her collar down, revealing the bruise spreading around her shoulder like it was taking possession of her.

It was an unpleasant sight. Against Kagome's pale skin, they are grotesque, bluish-purple bruises intertwined, like gnarled fingers, twisting, and knotted around it. Kagome lightly pressed her index finger against the swollen side of the wound, sucking in a sharp breath as the pain spirals all across her body. The infection wraps itself around her body like the second skin she neither wanted nor needed.

The pain has an unpleasant heat to it, eating at her stomach. There's nausea too, just enough to make her hold onto the sink for support and breath slow. It was buried in her shoulder, stinging and burning, almost as if the bone and muscle were smoldering. In the far distance, though, she heard an evil laughing.

After the sound, Kagome's eyes were immobile like the rest of her face as the recognition made it almost impossible to absorb any faster. She was frozen for maybe three whole seconds before she peered down the drain, following the voice.

Blood gushed with sickening determination from the pipe as if it had it's own heart sought to pump it from its body. Her bare hands pushing against the smooth surface in vain, an invisible force was keeping her in place. Blood splattered the mirror, the wallpaper, bouncing off the walls and covering Kagome. The scarlet blood lashed over the bathroom, painting the scene in which she would be found dead if it was her own. Horrified, she stared at the blood with fear. She felt her own hands drench with the oozing red liquid. She tried to wipe them away.

"No!" She cried out, "it's my blood! It's my blood!" Her hands struggled to get free of the dripping blood.

"No! Please, stop!" She screamed. Kagome fought the urge to vomit. In a final desperate, almost animalistic act, she grabbed at her shirt with both hands and tried to tear it.

As soon as the last shreds of fabric were out of the way, Kagome's vision faded as she covered her eyes. Darkness was the only thing that remained, gone was the deep crimson red.

For a brief moment, it felt like she was floating above the surface of the pool, a sensation that was far from comfortable. A slight breeze of wind caressed her skin, her hair flowing around her like a warm mantle. Even as the wind blew, she could still hear the voice speak through the darkness.

"Oh yes, Kagome. Such a lovely little maiden you are. If you're so terrified, perhaps you'll be willing to listen to my proposal." She said, slowly emerging her head from the darkness.

Kagome opened her eyes, staring at the creature's pale skin, her long black hair wrapping around Kagome's neck like she would be strangled at any moment. She has six arms and wears no clothing to cover her breasts. Her lower torso is that of a centipede, thus giving her least one hundred feet. Her mouth was open in a broad smile, her tongue hanging from it. It was clear from the look in her eyes that she was already planning to kill her.

The Mukade Jōrō dragged her tongue down Kagome's cheek, causing Kagome to clench her mouth shut, feeling a sickness through her body. She felt like vomiting.

"It's been a while since I tasted that much poison..."You'll be dead in a couple of hours..." She mumbled with a sinister grin.

The blood drained from Kagome's face before she was even aware of making a conscious decision, pushing away from the centipede. Her legs pounded furiously on the rough, muddy stone that appeared as her ears strained for more sounds, more clues as to where the Mukade Jōrō was is. She had no clue as to what she'd do when she got there, just that she had to get there fast.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, exhausted. Her long legs broke from beneath her, and she collapsed onto the floor. It had not been long before she could smell it - the stench of rotten flesh. Her heart started racing, and she knew she had to keep going. Branches constantly attacked her, leaves crunched under her feet, and big, black roots seemed to appear out of nowhere as if to try and stop her. But she could still smell it. She had to stop before her lungs gave out on her. Her hair was matted, her arms and legs all bruised and cut, and her uniform looked like rags, dirty and tattered.

The dread creeps over her like an icy chill, numbing her brain. In this frozen state, her mind offers her only one thought. It is today. There is no avoiding it. She's like a calf being herded into a truck for the slaughterhouse; only the calf doesn't know where it's going, and she did.

"Please, God, let me live..." she cried softly, throwing herself forward with even greater abandon. Her lungs and heart were pumping, but the air didn't seem to be enough as she sprinted ahead, panic trembling in her exhausted limbs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the Mukade Jōrō coming towards her, fast. She tries to jump out of the way, but it's too late. She screamed, giving away her position, but the pain is unbearable. The creature bites the side of her abdomen, tearing into the flesh with extreme force as it flung Kagome into the air. Her face and legs flew backward as she slammed into the ground, her body twirled and jerked as she began rolling down a hill. Time seems to slow down when she's falling. In the seconds it took her to reach the bottom, she knew it was going to hurt.

As she laid there on the cold asphalt, her vision clouded, making her dizzy. She sucked in cramped air, feeling her lungs burned. She saw the spots in the corners of her view, making her head feel like the only thing inside of it was static. She heard a buzzing noise with a continuous faint horn blaring in the background, filling her ears. It felt like she was there for hours, watching flickering lights of red and blue fading back and forth.

There was a crunch of glass behind her. The darkness pressed in on her as she fought the urge to sit up. Over the shattered glass, each step crackled. Kagome could tell even with her eyes closed something about the passer-by. Peace. There was absolute stillness. No air stirred the grass or leaves. Not a sound could be heard neither close at hand nor in the far-off distance. Even her breath seemed to die as soon as it left her mouth.

"I'm not ready..." She bit her lip tightly in an attempt to hide any sound that wanted to escape from her mouth, staring loss into the dark sky.

"No one ever is," The voice was unexpected. It was low, with an agreeable trace of huskiness and with a hint of more compassion than the beast she was expecting. The baritone of his voice reverberating through Kagome's bones as she felt him brush some hair out of her face. His hands were callused and raw like he'd had a difficult life and worked twice as hard for everything he had.

"Papa..." Her lower lip quivered as the words slowly made their way out of her mouth. Her eyes widened at the sound of her high voice and became glazed with a glossy layer of tears. As she blinked, they dripped from her eyelids and slid down the side of her face. Turning her head to the side, she noticed that her hands shifted into the innocence of a young child's, soft and delicate, were becoming tainted with this spreading purple with yellow blotches.

"We don't get to choose our time. Death is what gives life meaning; to know your days are numbered. That time is short." The low rumble of his voice is comforting as it wraps around Kagome and carries her off to a world where sound is the power that could change everything wrong in the world.

That's right. Kagome remembered; it was raining that night. They were walking home together when they notice a car hydroplaning. They couldn't do anything as the car skimmed along the surface of the water. They knew that the driver braking wouldn't help; it was like falling off a cliff just enough time to regret what you did that day but not enough time for anyone to help you.

At the last second, her father blocked her with his body, taking the full force of the impact. Their bodies hit the hood of the car, and she screamed. Her bones and muscles felt like they were being crumbled into a tiny box. Her lungs contracted with such force that she was afraid they would fold into themselves. Their torso smashed up against the windshield while her arms and legs were wrapped around him, holding on for dear life to stop the forward movement her body was going. That precious second before her arm snapped in two; the pain had almost brought her to the point of blacking out; maybe it would have been easier on her if it had. She skidded on the asphalt as the car slammed into a stone barrier before coming to a full stop. Silence; it scared Kagome more than the pain. Shouldn't her father be calling out to her?

She tried moving, but she became disorientated before she even knew she had a concussion that had her drifting in and out of consciousness. She was fleetingly aware of the bloody taste in her mouth, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Why was she in pain, God, why so much pain? Then it came back to her, rain mixing with her tears as she stared at the blue flicked in the sky, the sound of sirens drawing near.


	3. No More

"No more..." It was, but a whisper, her pleading as tears ran down from her empty eyes.

"I can never return, can I?" Her soul is broken; she can never leave this world. Her little hand clenched into a tight fist, unable to stop the negative feelings surging through her.

She looked to her side, watching her little fingers point upward to the sky, lifeless. It was at that moment that a bright ray of light exploded through the air, hitting the moon, and the light hit her face, illuminating it. She was in a dark place, and she was terrified.

As she opened her eyes, her hands shielding her from that blinding light. What she saw was an endless night, full of stars, and the moon with one bright, shining star. She was looking at it, and it was glowing like a crystal. It was a star that looked very similar to the stars that she had seen from her era. Kagome's heart beat faster as her eyes caught a hint of red on her pinky finger. She looked around, and she found herself surrounded by one long thread.

Her heart was beating in her chest like a drum. Her head was spinning, and she forced herself to lay back down. She found herself looking up at her pinky finger, with the night sky shining through. She had no idea what was happening.

Kagome felt a callused hand touch her tiny face, claws pricking her cheek as they leaned in to whisper into her ear.

"You can overcome your fears and change your future; you taught me that." She looked up to find Inuyasha looking down at her with a soft smile, a warm glow emanating from his eyes. He was a beautiful sight, with his white hair and golden glowing eyes, and the sweet face of his when he looks at her.

"Inu!" When she opened her mouth to speak, the words came out erratically, the sounds half-swallowed by a sobbing noise. To her dismay, she was crying almost too much to be coherent. Inuyasha's face turned from passive to empathetic. He listened intently and then held his hand out to her.

"I know you've had a really tough time. I know how you've suffered. I know you've been left alone for so long. We're going to be together again," he promised, pulling her little body into his arms, and she sighed, leaning back and closing her eyes. He kissed the top of her head, holding her there for a long, long while.

Kagome felt like she was in a trance as she measured her small hand with his. She felt like she was floating; that she was drifting. She had no idea where she was or how long she was there. She was lost. She was lost and lost in a way that no sane person should ever be. But with him, she felt herself begin to come back.

Her eyes caught the flicker of red between their fingers as she looked at their hands. It felt familiar, but this one was different. She wasn't sure if she should be grateful or scared. Inuyasha's pinky had the same thread she had. She could see way out in the distance, far from them, and a second one that ended at hers.

She pushed herself from him, walking alongside the thread into the distance, pulling him along with her, holding his hand tight so she wouldn't be alone again. She looked up at the sky, a few minutes passed, and then, the light was gone, the stars were gone, but she could still see the sky. The night sky was now black and cold.

Then they heard it, the sound of a woman's voice, but they could not see who it was. She was sitting down with her face covered by her hands, almost tucked into her knees. Her skin was pale. Her hair, black.

The voice was soothing and pleasant, but the sound of her weeping did not end there. The woman continued crying and rocking back and forth.

Kagome could tell that she was crying about her loss, about her soul. She noticed that the second thread had reached the end of the line with this mysterious woman, with her pinky.

She looked up at Inuyasha, her eyes full of hurt, she knew who this woman was, and for the first time, she smiled. They were both smiling, and she looked at her hand. He was holding her hand, his warm, rough fingers running over her knuckles.

He reached out and hugged her.

"I'm not gonna give in. I'm stronger now." Kagome murmured into his shoulder.

"I know." He answered with a small smile. She sighed and stepped herself from him. Turning to face the mysterious woman, herself, who is now a shell of who she was once before, a shell whose form and essence has changed dramatically throughout her existence. And while she's not sure who she was before, she is confident of who she is now.

"Don't close your eyes," Kagome says quietly.

Kagome's demeanor caused the woman to look from her fingers, to uncover her face. But the expression was empty. In a state of uncertainty, Kagome could not think whether this was an illusion, and thus she remained firm. Her brown eyes, as they met Kagome's, reflected the same stillness, but it was less lively.

She refused to look away from Kagome; her dark lashes brimmed heavy with black tears. A lone black tear traced down her cheek, staining the pale skin there, and just like that, the floodgates opened.

She wept, tears streaming from her black-stained eyes, and still, she did not look away. When she cried, there was a rawness to it like the pain was still an open wound.

Poison. Her body was still dying and suffering without her.

Kagome looked back and saw that Inuyasha was nowhere in sight. Inuyasha had vanished, and that her thread was now on a different path. She looked forward and saw that their strands, herself, and her body were now connected. It was time to connect again.

She slowly reached her hand out towards Kagome but ripped it away, like an invisible barrier repelled her, a wave of fear washed over her, her eyes widening as she fell to the floor with her hands covering her ears. Then she screamed.

It was the kind of scream that made Kagome's blood run cold. It pierced the brain and ignited some primeval pathway. Adrenaline surged through her veins, fight or flight, stand or run, be a hero or a coward. As her fingers curled into a fist, Kagome's decision was made.

Kagome ran and held her, hugging her tight. Her body let out a small gasp like she was finally able to take a breath as she slowly wrapped her arms gently around her. She was too tired to continue crying, however. After another few seconds, her eyes slowly open, and she opened her mouth to speak.

"It's been some time..." It took her a few seconds to get out the words, but her voice was steady.

Then the world crumbled around them.

Kagome jerked up, her hands clenching her fists, a momentary flash of pain shooting through her body. She gave herself a once over; she gasped, then felt a small burst of relief, and she looked back down, blinking in shock.

She tried to move but felt her limbs tingle with a dull numbness and she closed her eyes again, rubbing her forehead with her hands. Kagome took a deep breath, her lungs hurting and slowly rose from the ground. Her hair was knotted up with the rest of her clothes, so it hung down about halfway down her back. Her limbs moved like they didn't belong to her; each movement is a negotiation rather than an order.

Everything hurts now.

Her eyesight blurred, but not because tears were welling up. Everything became fuzzy; then, she saw nothing at all. Her consciousness was floating through a space filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky area, her heartbeats pounded loudly, echoing in her ears, alongside fading pleas for help.

Space was slowly beginning to close as the static grew more pronounced. The world fell into silence, save for her heartbeats. As she became more and more dazed, the static began to diminish; the ringing gradually became a dull but persistent sound.

The world became. Still, the static was slowly fading away.

Her eyes slowly opened, and as she glanced up, the sky was moving. The entire sky seemed to be shifting; it looked as if it was slowly, deliberately changing. The sky had somehow become less dark. She could see the stars, but they appeared as faint dots and speckles against the grey, dusky sky.

She could feel her legs swing lightly side to side; it was a gentle sway. There was a part of her brain that was confused; she did not understand how her body was moving. She was bewildered, and her mind was trying to work out how it was possible.

I'm sorry, Kagome..." she heard someone mutter, her eyes following the voice.

Oh, it's you…

She looked up at him and smiled weakly as she felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. It was her father. He was gently rubbing her arm as he carried her. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his. She sunk into the warmth of his side and welcoming the red blanket she was within, making the place warmer somehow.

A faint light bleeds through the darkness, kissing her cheek. The light was warm, with soft light rays of color that gave her a strange sense of peace. As her eyes adjusted to the shine, that is when she saw him instead, Inuyasha.

She looked up at him with a mix of disbelief and grief; her hands moved to touch his face. He was looking at her with a gentle expression. She didn't think his eyes could have held more emotion. It was the same way he had looked at her in her room when he pledged his life to save her.

The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down her face as she pulled him down towards her. She could feel the muscles of her chin tremble like a small child as she buried her face into his neck. It was like being in a dream.

But he wasn't a dream.

He was real.

She sobbed into his neck, unceasingly, her hands knotting into his dark hair. He lifted her to his shoulder and held her close, rocking her slowly as her tears soaked his neck. He was lost for words; there was nothing else to say.

Dawn sent shimmering rays, breaking Kagome of her crying spell, bestowing a golden path around them. She blinked toward the sun that brought her a day she was never promised, yet was glad to see. She let the moment sink in, soothe her from her core right out to where the nascent rays touched her skin.

A single pulse surged through Inuyasha's body, leaving a blazing trail of burning energy as it raced out of him. It had been a brief moment, but it had already been enough time for the two to feel the wave of its impact. A third pulse slammed into him as their hair danced through the wind. It was more powerful than the first two, but not as fast.

The fourth pulse, his hair changed colors completely, growing a beautiful shade of white as the intensity continued to spread down his entire body. After a while, the change finally ceased. He stood tall; he had recovered entirely, as though he had never been injured at all. His ears twitched as he felt the burning energy leaving his body once again.

"I'm so thankful you're all right, Inuyasha." She said it gently as if comforting herself.

"You fool. I should be the one." Inuyasha's embrace was warm, and his big, strong arms seemed very protective when carrying Kagome's frail body. As if holding her wasn't quite enough, he had to feel every ounce that she was press into every ounce that is him. In that moment of feeling him so close, she was more alive than she had been in so long. And that is all she needed.


	4. Healing

When the poison struck, Kagome was its prisoner, quite helpless in her cage of pain. She was blinded with flashing colorful spots and craved darkness, quiet and stillness. Nausea overwhelmed her. The pain would throb so violently around her skull that she wondered why it didn't just crack open.

Her eyes unfocused; she heard arguing. It was from outside, the sounds of yelling. Why were there people arguing? Why were people yelling? There was no reason for that. She looked at Sango, who was sitting next to her; she was terrified, although she was silent. Sango never spoke much, but she kept her emotions in check, though she did sometimes let out a little panic.

"She is in pain! What is taking so long to make this, I got you the ingredients hours ago." Inuyasha growled as he walked behind Miroku and Kaede.

"I know this, ungrateful dog" The voice from outside the room came inside. Kagome relieved to see the silver-haired priestess. Kaede was a person of uncommon gifts. She was like a bird in flight, making something so impossible for others to appear effortless and natural. When she turned to Kagome, her face softened into a smile.

"You're safe here, child. We need to get you undress so we can look at the wound. Inuyasha, you need to leave -" Kaede began as Kagome blinked back the tears that threatened to come.

"That's enough! I don't want to hear it! I'm sick of you and everyone else telling me to stay outside. I'm not some stray! I'm not going! Not without her! I won't leave her again!" The anger from his eyes showed the scared child within, the boy who was taught to fight and starved of the love he craved. Kagome could see the pain beneath it and reached her hand out to him, taking his hand into hers.

"No one is leaving. You'll be right here, beside me..." Kagome spoke weakly, giving him a sweet smile.

"Okay." Inuyasha nodded. But the next moment, before his voice even finished forming, a realization came over his mind.

"Here, just hold this between us," Inuyasha muttered, his face flushed as he stripped off his suikan, leaving him in his white hadagi and tossed it to Sango. She gave him a look of silent approval as he rustled his claws through his hair.

Sango unraveled the robe, holding it up like a large sheet between the two as Kaede helped Kagome carefully peel off her shirt.

"Thank you..." Kagome whispered to herself as she endured. When they took off the last bit of clothing, it lay beside Kaede; her shirt neatly folded up.

Sango gasped and became pale. Her eyes and her mouth wide open in an expression of stunned shock as she looked at Kagome exposed. The infection was spreading through her and left visible bumps that painted Kagome's chest as they spread. Sango looked in the direction of the monk and saw that Miroku had his hands together in prayer, respectfully averting his eyes from the women.

Inuyasha's ear twitched as he heard Kagome's chest heaved up and down and braced herself against him through the robe as she held her chest still. Her right shoulder throbbed, her right elbow jolted, and her eyes tried to make sense of the flashing images in front of them.

"It was harsh on you..." Kaede spoke softly, looking at the path of the infection, she dipped a cloth in a paste mixture and put it in the wound. It felt like a stake hammering into Kagome's shoulder, the strikes radiating pain in a way that shatters her brain. She kept still, breathing shallow as she gripped Inuyasha's arm. After, Kaede covered it in a bandage that stretched from Kagome's shoulder to her chest.

Her body swayed from side to side slightly, her chest heaving and trying to squeeze out more air, but none came out. Her head fell to Inuyasha's chest as she collapsed onto him.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha tightened his grip on her through the robe, making sure that she didn't hurt herself further. Her thoughts returned to the bandage she had on her shoulder and the buzzed, stinging sensation that was beginning to spread through her limbs as the medicine fought against the toxins.

Before long, her eyelids felt heavy, her neck and shoulders shook from deep, restless pain. The adrenaline was beginning to take its toll on her, leaving her sweaty and disoriented. She didn't feel as though she had any control over her own body.

Then there was darkness.

In the darkness, the pain seemed to be slowly fading.

When she finally wakes, her eyelids are weighed down, and she sits up sluggishly. Her eyes are puffy, and her mouth is sore. She pauses as the red robe pools into her lap; this confused her. She just stared at it until she noticed the floor. She sees her shirt, tattered and worn, covered in blood folded next to her. She breaks out into a cold sweat and wraps her arms around herself, pressing the robe to her chest.

"Oh God, it wasn't just a nightmare. This is real." She looked to her shoulder, noticing the large bandage there, lined with healing fluid. The dressing was two times as thick as it should be. She knew what happened.

The pain in her shoulder had cleared, and it was slowly beginning to accept the weight of the healing itself. The new skin was healing; she thought wistfully. Maybe it wouldn't be like this forever. She had no idea.

She felt the skin of her shoulder begin to absorb the medicine, and it made her shiver, but she had to do this. She did not want to be a burden. She could sense her fingers tingling; they started feeling heavier.

Her teeth were raspy, and her lips were dry. She realized that she was unable to push herself off the mat, and she took a big breath. She tried again, then dropped again. She was dizzy, she looked to the side and saw Inuyasha in the corner of the room.

"You're going to need my help, Kaede said that the poison did a number on you." He said softly, trying not to spook her.

"Inuyasha," she said, sobbing quietly as she reached out to him. He rushed to her side, his heart speeding up. She had thought she lost everything, what a horrible thing she had to go through.

"Shh, Shh, do not cry, I'm here," he reassured her gently as he took her into his arms, wiping the tears from her eyes.

She nodded slowly, gazing up at him, convinced that things she was safe, that this wasn't another cruel illusion.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she whispered, soft and still, her face in his chest.

In the following weeks, there are days she acts as nothing had happened, but always has a hand on Inuyasha in some way, his hair, his sleeve, anything that made her feel anchored, but some nights she screams. She'd believed she was being taken away in the night. But no, she was back, with everyone. With Inuyasha. And still, there were days she didn't sleep at all, knowing she would be returning in the night, unable to find anything to keep her safe. Like a horror movie, it played again in her mind as if somehow her brain was unwilling to let the images go and attempt to analyze them; it made her see it all over again.

Kagome woke to another nightmare, pacing around as she resisted the urge, as well as tried to stay calm, but eventually, she couldn't keep it in any longer and let out a scream in her hands. The silence of the room was a dull thud as she fell back down to her knees, sobbing silently.

Through the haze of tears, she managed to hear someone's footsteps approaching the hut. It was Inuyasha. She prayed he would not come as he was the last person; she wanted to see her like this.

"Why did you come-!?" She demanded, covering her face as she pushed her hand out to indicate to him that she didn't want him to look at her. She has been tormenting her friends for weeks with her night terrors, and she was tired of it. She didn't want to be a burden.

With a face full of pain, Inuyasha saw Kagome drenched in sweat. He looked at her, her face bathed in the yellow light of the candle, and he reached out, pulling her outstretched arm into his body, forcing her into his arms.

He held her there until she could no longer hide the fear in her eyes. Kagome's eyes were wide and incredibly focused as she stared at Inuyasha, looking down at her.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so tired!" she whispered. She gave Inuyasha a desperate, pleading look, as tears starting to flow down her cheeks.

Inuyasha's heart sunk as he rubbed her shoulder with his thumb; she was exhausted. His touch eased the exhaustion she was feeling, and she gladly tucked her head against his chest. His closeness comforted her, making her feel safe.

He pushed through the straw curtain as he carried her out of the hut and headed towards the forest. Kagome had a bewildered look on her face as they passed by the village; she didn't know where Inuyasha was taking her. After the lights dimmed and the noise was all gone, the air seemed pure, Kagome felt it in her lungs, it was a cleaner, healthier air.

The forest, Inuyasha's forest, was ancient. The trees thick and old, roots that were twisted. It might once have been filled with birdsong and animals that roamed. But now it was aged. Its canopy was so dense that you could only see the occasional streak of moonlight that barely touched the forest floor.

The forest does not care for seconds or minutes; even hours are inconsequential. The smallest measure of time here is the cycle of daylight and darkness. Here, little can happen in the time it takes for Kagome to change from a girl into a woman, to gain and lose. Perhaps that is why she loves to be here- it stabilizes the rapidity of her thoughts, grounds her in a place where the ticking of clocks is undegraded. But perhaps because it is the forest where she met him, Inuyasha.

Kagome felt her breath leave her as she saw it from the distance as they broke the tree line.

The Goshinboku.

The tree stood out from the rest of the landscape, bathed in bright angelic light. The sky, midnight blue, gave the scene a fairytale quality, and the stars that dotted the sky lit up the night. The branches swelled and swayed, waving out into the night sky.

The Goshinboku is the grand poem of the Ages, a beauty that encourages the spirit to dance through worlds, to make our odes to its branches that spread heaven bound. And in the intense light of the moon, it creates a kiss for the senses in those moving leaves, the thousand green hues, and the soft whispering in the wind.

He sat her down gently, making sure she had her balance on the roots and took his hand off her shoulder, staring at her as he took a few steps back. She hesitated briefly, looked at the Goshinboku, and then took a step toward it.

"Hmm," She hummed, somewhat sheepishly.

Kagome took one hand and placed it against the ancient oak, her fingertips gripping into the crevices that ran through the bark. Her eyes came to rest on the scar; it lay fresh still. She felt at peace, for once in weeks.

"I wonder if anything will ever be the same again," She whispered to herself. She felt Inuyasha close behind her, feeling as though he could feel her emotions. She closed her eyes, placing both palms to her nose and breathed out in a deep, relaxed sigh.

Breathe in, breathe out.

She broke her train of thought, like switching the light on, when she felt the heavy fabric drape over her. A shaky sigh escaped her lips as she took a step back. Inuyasha placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her; she felt his chest against her back. From deep inside her chest, through every cell of her body, the warmth welcomed her like an old friend. Her fingers become entwined in the woven red cloth, gripping it as if it could keep her from tumbling into the abyss.

"It's nice to know you'll always be here for me, Inuyasha." She turned, stretching her hand out to him, as tears formed in her eyes. He reached for her, his claws grazing her fingers lightly as it slipped out from underneath the sleeve of the robe.

Inuyasha lifted her again, cradling her against his chest as he sat below the scar on The Goshinboku. The roots pressed against his thighs as he settled Kagome in his lap, making sure she was comfortable.

"I'll never leave you, Kagome." He muttered, pulling her closer to his chest as he pressed his lips to her hair. He closed his eyes and silently waited until he felt her hand gripped against his chest. Before long, he heard the familiar sound of a tree rustling in the distance.

The night breeze has a way of moving her hair, of tousling it into light curls as she stares up at the rising moon. It carries with it the fragrance of the earth, soft after the washing of the rain. Her lips parted in a small smile, gazing up at him with the night sky. Oh, she loves him. She loves everything about him. It was no accident that she mistook him as her father when he first saved her; her father was her hero when she was a child. But it seemed that her father has now passed that torch on to Inuyasha.

After an hour or so of sitting in silence, Inuyasha's ear twitched as he heard her breathing even out. He peered down at her; Kagome was in a deep sleep, a sleep he hasn't seen her be in for weeks. Her hands had fallen into her lap, and her face was tucked slightly against his chest. He hadn't been able to wake her up even once, as she had seemingly sacrificed herself to him. He watched her body, quiet and peaceful.

The forest hums with life all around them as he gazed up at the canopy, listening for the insects that sing sweetly in the night. The moon burst through the cracks in the leaves, lighting up the dirt path ahead of them, decorated with outgrown roots, wildflowers, and fallen leaves beneath them. He breathed in deeply, feeling the night air shift and blend with his own. He lost himself in the moonlight and her. She looked down at her sleeping face and sighed.

"You're all I've got," he whispered as he stroked her cheek. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching. Dear God, he couldn't fight against the thoughts that were going through him. Her very smell was flooding his senses now, and he couldn't help but draw her closer. It had been such a simple act, but it had been a huge turning point. In his darkest days, he had wanted nothing more than to hold her, like this, and for the first time, all he could think was her.

He kissed her, careful not to wake her and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. Her skin was soft and felt warm under his. After that kiss, everything seemed right, their souls felt lighter. This woman with the terrible pain in her heart, this woman with the hunger for freedom, felt a little bit freer, less in pain. He knew that a kiss wasn't enough to change the world, but maybe it was enough for their future.

He loved her.

He will never let her go through Hell again.

He was hers, and she too was his.

He'll protect her forever.


End file.
